READ THIS REVIEW!
I debated about writing this review for months, but ultimately felt like I should share my experience with The Shabby Chic and, more importantly, their seamstress.
I should start by saying that The Shabby Chic itself was abs...olutely wonderful. It was the third bridal shop I had went to that day and ended up being where I bought my wedding dress from. My group was the only group in the shop during my appointment, and we had a consultant's undivided attention the entire time. We had independence to browse dress racks ourselves, but the consultant also made a few suggestions and brought out a few dresses herself. I never felt pressured by the consultant to "just hurry up and pick one" or felt like my thoughts on the dresses she brought out weren't heard and considered. When I decided on my wedding dress, the consultant was able to give me multiple discounts due to small flaws in the dress (it was used, of course), which I really appreciated. Altogether I just spent around $550 on a dress that was originally well over $1,000, which I'd say is a steal (not to mention that the consultant gave me a congratulatory gift bag, too)!
I wanted to get alterations done for those small flaws I mentioned, so the consultant recommended I use the in-shop seamstress (Mary Hafner). I couldn't find any information/reviews about her online, but the consultant trusted her, so I went with it. That is where I went wrong. Right off the bat, this seamstress seemed unfriendly and coarse. At both of my fittings, which happened mid-May and mid-June, she was not wearing a mask (which doesn't bother me, but seemed completely unprofessional, given the COVID-19 pandemic). When I gave her my thoughts on what I'd like altered, she was kind of pushy about what she thought would be best, almost like she didn't consider what I'd requested. (Granted, a lot of what she said was based off of her experience as a seamstress, but she also changed my mind about what I wanted my veil to look like, which wasn't cool.) I tried to let this feeling of uncertainty roll off my shoulders by thinking, "This seamstress apparently has a lot of experience, so even if she rubs me the wrong way, I should just trust in her skills", but I was WRONG. (For background knowledge: My dress is mermaid-style with intricate beading on the bodice and a tulle skirt.) There were MULTIPLE errors in my dress when I received it back. There was a noticeable rip near the zipper on the side of the bodice. The bodice was supposed to be close-fitting, but the zipper VERY EVIDENTLY bunched up near my hip, visible in all of my wedding pictures showing that side of my body. The zipper itself would not go past a certain point without SIGNIFICANT pulling. The bra cups added into the dress were poorly sewn (like, I could've done a better job if I'd done it myself). I asked for beading on the edge of my veil and there was none. Mind you, the impression the seamstress gave me at our initial fitting was that the dress/veil would be nothing but flawless in the end; in fact, multiple of the issues I listed above we SPECIFICALLY talked about fixing at my initial fitting. The seamstress also had more than enough time to fix these issues-- I bought my dress early March...
There aren't enough characters for me to finish! Read my full review here: https://www.yelp.com/biz/the-shabby-chic-bride-salem-2?hrid=rv0_1l3CRAyPt9lgYkzh5A&utm_campaign=www_review_share_popup&utm_medium=copy_link&utm_source=(direct)